Chandra Shekhar: Why socialism failed in India?

This historic interview with the former Indian prime minister Chandra Shekhar was recorded by Dr Vijay Rana, former radio editor of the BBC Hindi, at his home in New Delhi in March 1987 when India was preparing to celebrate the 40 years of Indian independence.

Rajiv Gandhi was ruling India with an overwhelming majority and opposition parties were in disarray. Regional parties were clamouring for more autonomy. Indira Gandhi had been assassinated and Punjab and Assam were seething with discontent. Rajiv Gandhi was struggling to free India from the stranglehold of the state-controlled socialist economy.

In this wide-ranging interview Chandra Shekhar, then president of Janata Party, talked about what socialism, regionalism and communalism had done to India.

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